​Teaching our kiddos to use a zipper can be a difficult task. The truth is, it’s a very complex skill that encompasses many developmental areas! To zip a zipper up/down you must be able to motor plan, have bilateral coordination, display finger isolation, separate the two sides of the hand, have eye-hand coordination, have a strong pinch, and master the pincer and tripod grasps.

March is Trisomy awareness month, so it’s a perfect time to explain “what is trisomy?” Most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46 chromosomes total. Trisomy is a genetic disorder in which an individual has an extra chromosome (partial or whole). Early identification is important in order to best evaluate, treat, and monitor for any possible developmental deficits or possible medical complications. Educating others of trisomy is important to not only provide a better understanding of the syndromes but to reinforce the notion that early intervention is vital for academic and social success.

Narrative language skills are vital to a person’s ability to not only have successful social relationships but also impact academic work (e.g., written language). Narrative skills are the ability to use language to tell a story. These skills begin to develop at the young age of 2 years! As a child’s narrative language skills develop they will begin to follow rules of storytelling (e.g., sequencing events, including characters, having an event/dialogue/solution, and an ending). Narratives may be fiction or non-fiction.

What should your child be doing? Check out this chart of narrative development.

Pragmatic language; also known as social skills, is the ability to understand and adequately maneuver daily interactions with other people. This includes what we say (and don’t say), how we say it, and body language that accompanies our words.

Here are some examples of pragmatic language skills:

Social greetings

Understanding and respecting personal space

Story telling

Eye contact

Understanding body language and gestures

Having conversations (without the adult having to maintain the conversation)

Joint attention (when two people use gestures and gaze to share attention with an object/action/person)

Playing reciprocally (turn taking)

Understanding emotions of self and others

Knowing how to act in different social situations

Knowing what a “friend” is and how to make/keep friends

Understanding metaphors/sarcasm/jokes/idioms

Asking for or offering help verbally

Asking for clarification

Sometimes people with pragmatic language impairments gravitate towards very young children or only adults. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder typically have difficulty with pragmatic language skills; however, it is important to remember a person may have pragmatic language difficulties and not be on the Autism Spectrum.

If you want to learn more about pragmatic language skills or suspect your child has difficulty with pragmatic language talk to your pediatrician or contact us to see if we can help!

Sometimes I get the questions “why isn’t she talking yet” or “will he ever talk?” In these moments it’s important to explain the communication pyramid. The skills at the bottom of the pyramid (purple and blue) must be acquired before the skills at the top can be. This is why we have to address play skills and receptive language before we can expect them to use sentences or master a conversation.

Talking to our kiddos about their day at school is important. “Did you have a good day?” seems to be the automatic question we all ask, but it is important as parents to elicit more of a response. We want kiddos to learn to tell us about things, not just answer questions with one word (close ended questions). Let’s find some open ended questions that get our kids communicating with us!

It’s no secret to my families that I am not a fan of sippy cups. I get that they are a matter of convenience, but there are reasons why we should just skip over the sippy and head straight to open and straw cups. Let’s check out the pros and cons from a speech-language pathologist’s (and oral cavity) perspective.

While playing with playdoh can give optimal time to address receptive language, expressive language, pragmatic language, sensory, fine motor, gross motor, and handwriting development not all kiddos are able to safely play with it. Sometimes kiddos eat the playdoh or they are gluten sensitivity. Well, we have the solution! Follow the recipe below for some EDIBLE GLUTEN FREE PLAYDOH!

Edible Gluten Free Playdoh RecipeIngredients:-Baby rice cereal-Vegetable oil-Cornstarch(or gluten-free cornflour if you are in the UK or Australia)-Unsweetened Applesauce (you can substitute water if you don't have applesauce)-Food coloring (optional)

It's never too early to start tracking your baby's development. Although all children develop at different rates, there are development milestones widely accepted as a good benchmark for determining if your child is developing within generally accepted time frames.

If you are concerned about your child's development, early intervention is the key to getting them on track to developing their essential life skills for life. We offer free consultations - contact us today if you are concerned or uncertain if your child might benefit from Speech-Language or Occupational Therapy. We are here to help.

Therapy Center of Buda

WHAT OUR PARENTS SAY

I am so happy with the care my daughter gets here. Everyone is helpful and patient. Amy took extra time with me and my wife to explain exactly what was happening with my daughter and explain how therapy was going to help. I love that she involves us in the sessions and we have seen major improvements. I would recommend this clinic to anyone!

-Paul S.

I can't say enough about how much my son has progressed and continues to progress in their care. The love and compassion, professional atmosphere, and top notch therapists make this place the best in central Texas. We are forever grateful to Amy Grant, Miss Angeli, Suzie and Brandi.